Poopy Bum Question

[CrockChickens9]

Hello! I noticed yesterday that my 7 month old Buff Orpington had a little bit of poop down her bum. So today I checked her over and some poop was caked in the feathers around her vent. I cleaned her up and she is otherwise acting normal eating drinking well. Environment wise, we recently introduced 4 chicks. The chicks were in an enclosure in the run with them for over a month then a couple weeks ago we let them mingle and now they are together all day and as of two nights ago in the coop overnight together. When they joined I switched their laying food to the chicks growing crumbles with some oyster shell on the side always available. I made the mistake of making that transition too fast I believe. Because I soon started noticing a few watery poops under the roost each morning but definitely still a bunch of completely normal poops as well. I figured it would settle but now her bum is all poopy and I’m hoping it is not becoming anything worse. Do you think it’s just the food? Is there anything I should be doing to help prevent further problems. Her vent looks normal to me the only other health thing about her is that she is pretty lazy and eats pretty constantly. I tend to worry she’s overweight so I limit any treats to a pinch of Black Soldier flies twice a week. I can check her crop in the morning but it felt soft and normal to me tonight. Any advice would be appreciated since this is my first chicken rodeo. Thanks in advance!

 

[GodLovesU]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...diarrhea-in-chickens-an-in-depth-guide.79658/
That may help.Good luck!

 

[CrockChickens9]

Thank you! From that information it looks like both the feed change and the new flock members could be the cause. It’s says to consider changing them back to their old feed. Should I do that or since it’s been a week already will they adjust soon? When I cleaned her there was a fully formed solid poop stuck there so not just diarrhea. I’m hoping that cleaning her up will solve the problem since I don’t actually see much diarrhea in the coop or run anymore.

 

[GodLovesU]

@Eggcessive

 

[Eggcessive]

It can help to check her crop to see that it is empty first thing in the am before she eats or drinks. Probiotics or Greek yogurt with live cultures 1 TB daily might help. Post any pictures of her droppings. If others are not experiencing runny poops, it may not be the feed.

 

[CrockChickens9]

It can help to check her crop to see that it is empty first thing in the am before she eats or drinks. Probiotics or Greek yogurt with live cultures 1 TB daily might help. Post any pictures of her droppings. If others are not experiencing runny poops, it may not be the feed.

I will check her crop and get a picture of her droppings first thing tomorrow. I only have one other 7 month old Australorp besides the new chicks and she did have some runny droppings under her roost as well earlier this week. I actually noticed hers first but she does not have a messy butt and like the BO it’s only a few droppings while others are completely normal. I’ll check her droppings in the morning as well and take pictures as needed. I did actually order some probiotics this morning. Thank you for the help!

 

[CrockChickens9]

This morning her crop was empty and no loose droppings under the roost. Her droppings look completely normal to me. I pulled a few out and took a picture. Her butt was not poopy at all since the cleaning last night but I didn’t pick her up to inspect.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sounds like she is fine now.

 

[CrockChickens9]

Yes, I believe so. I will keep an eye on her. Hopefully it was just the feed change. Thank you for your help!